June 2019
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Some thoughts leading up to Canada Day celebrations Throughout the pages of this issue of The Villager, you’ll find a number of ways to celebrate Canada Day. And if you search the internet over the next couple of weeks, you’ll find even more. Also, keep your eye on The Villager’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TheVillagerCommunityNews. We’ll post events as more event details become available. The advent of celebrations marking independence or the formation of countries is interesting. In Canada, July 1st is the official day of recognition of the formation of our country in 1867, the signing of the British North America Act giving us independence from the United Kingdom. Less than a year later, the governor general signed a proclamation requesting that all Her Majesty’s subjects across Canada celebrate the achievement annually, and in 1879 the day became a statutory holiday known as Dominion Day, changing to Canada Day in 1982. Celebrating independence is not exclusive to Canada. The United States also celebrates independence from the United Kingdom; Algeria celebrates their independence from France; Columbia their independence
peoples were keepers of this land. They hunted, fished and farmed and, most notably, they respected the earth and were mindful of taking only what was needed, allowing for ample annual rebirth of all earthly gifts. Their careful stewardship of the land meant that when nonaboriginals, newcomers from Europe, landed in this country they found nothing but clear,
© Can Stock Photo / nmcandre
from Spain; the Congo from Belgium…the list goes on. Over thousands of years, countries have been colonized, conquered, divided up, and even disappeared. For those of us of a certain age, the map of the world barely resembles the one most of us learned from in school – remember that map the teacher rolled out from above the blackboard? Before Canada was formed, and for 5,000+ years here in Severn Township, First Nations
600 Sundial Drive, Orillia 705-259-5453 Ext 1137 www.orilliaretirement.com Supporting Your Independence
clean air; pristine rivers and lakes abundant with fish and turtles; forests filled with magnificent trees, plants and a sufficient number of animals to feed everyone’s families for yet more thousands of years, perhaps forever. The first European settlers must have been very grateful for the bounty they found 400 years ago. Unfortunately, in just a spec of time, a tiny dot on the line of history, some of that land is no longer quite as beautiful. Not all
waterways are so pristine. Many species of fish and fowl and birds, trees and plants struggle to survive. What has this to do with celebrating Canada? Everything. We must celebrate what we have so that we understand what we could lose. Celebrate all those who care and are helping to save us from ourselves. Celebrate the brilliant and inventive young people who show us new energy options; celebrate the senior who installs solar power; celebrate the thoughtful neighbour who voluntarily cleans up the plastic from our beautiful shorelines; celebrate the conservancies, especially those that manage careful stewardship over 13,000 acres of our local lands. And as you prepare for the 152nd birthday of Canada, be mindful of the Aboriginal struggle. How sad they must be that this land is in peril. We could celebrate them and thank them for looking after the land and water for so long. And then we could all become determined to do everything humanly possible to make things better. If we do this, we will one day celebrate with unencumbered joy.
We invite Orillia’s active and retired unsung heroes for a
Canada Day Open House Monday, July 1st, 11 am – 2 pm
RSVP today!